Page 20 - through Clusters and Networks

“Cells seldom exist as individuals in
nature but rather in the form of groups.
This allows them to survive dynamic
environments and external stresses.
One stress that a cell constantly faces
during its lifetime is the lack of nutrient
availability and to combat this stress,
cells employ multiple strategies. One
such strategy is the formation of
communities.

Cellular communities comprise of a
group of individual cells that work
together to cope with the lack of nutrient
availability and this allows the cells to
survive under these conditions.
Baker’s yeast, a type of fungi is
extremely good at this. Glucose is the
favorite food of Baker’s yeast and
when glucose levels are low in the
surrounding environment, these cells
come together to form highly
structured and patterned communities.
This allows them to efficiently survive
in these stressful environment”

Sriram Varahan,
Wellcome Trust/DBT India Alliance – Early
Career Fellow
Dr. Sunil Laxman Lab
Institute for Stem Cell Biology and
Regenerative Medicine (inStem)
Bangalore

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